Last Day

Today is my last day of work. 8 years of my life has been poured into presentations, proposals, and client reviews. I have suffered through countless meetings, trainings, conference calls, and demos. I had dealt with people who are like me and some who are not so much like me. I have lived in a cube, only to have constant view of the life outside, forever hearing what was going on and being involved in conversations that I might otherwise would choose not to be a part of...never with the ability to close a door. I have had to work quickly under constant deadlines, juggling many projects at one time, working at home in the evenings and weekends at times...but have also had days that seemed to D.R.A.G on because there wasn't much going on.

BUT, I have made great friends, including my BWF, Best Work Friend, Shelia. I have had COUNTLESS hours of laughter. I have enjoyed numerous lunches out with others instead of eating cold ham sandwiches by myself in the lunchroom, even though we never had an idea of where we were going until we got there. I have made many memories - including going to Durham Bulls baseball games, Chick-fil-A for Valentine's Day together with our spouses (yep!), Christmas dinners, being a part of Daycare Day at Work, Birthday surprises, three 50th birthday parties, 2 retirements, a few changes in personnel, and a Carolina Panthers football game. These things are what got me through! The friendships, the laughter, the caring for others when things were tough (like through family deaths and family issues). And, these things are what will cause me to keep in touch with these crazy people that I have worked with all these years!

Somehow, the good times always outweigh the bad. The fun memories always come to mind many more times than the tough ones. I will be forever grateful that God provided this job for me and allowed me to work with such a great group of friends.

Now, I look forward to this next phase of life that Mike and I are starting. It is fun to hear how he is now working and making these friends and memories that will hopefully last a long time! I pray that he has a great experience and that he too can look back, knowing that God provided this job for him at this particular time and be thankful for the life-long friends he has made.